October 6, 20129am-5pm

Indiana State Library140 N. Senate AvenueIndianapolis, IN 46204

The team of Massimo Pigliucci and Julia Galef are
coming to Indianapolis on Saturday, October 6, 2012. An episode for their
podcast Rationally Speaking (www.rationallyspeakingpodcast.org) will
be recorded during our institute. They will also give talks about the challenges
and strategies needed for defending science today. Joining them to
speak on the urgent need to defend science are researcher Jason Rodriguez and
CFI’s John Shook.

Speakers:

Julia Galef, "Cognitive Biases Affecting Science and Public Acceptance of Science"Julia is a New York-based writer and public speaker specializing in science, rationality, technology, and design. She serves on the board of directors of the New York City Skeptics and co-blogs at Rationally Speaking along with Massimo Pigliucci. She has moderated panel discussions at conferences such as The Amazing Meeting, Skepticon, and the Northeast Conference on Science and Skepticism, and gives frequent public lectures to organizations including the Center for Inquiry and the Secular Student Alliance. Julia received her B.A. in statistics from Columbia in 2005, and after graduating spent several years as a research assistant for social science professors at Columbia, Harvard and MIT, including a year writing case studies on international economics for Harvard Business School.

Massimo Pigliucci, PhD., "A Very Short Course in Intellectual Self-Defense"Massimo holds a Doctorate in Genetics from the University of Ferrara (Italy), a PhD in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Connecticut, and a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Tennessee. He has done post-doctoral research in evolutionary ecology at Brown University and is currently Chair of the Philosophy Department at Lehman College and Professor of Philosophy at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. His research interests include the philosophy of biology, in particular the structure and foundations of evolutionary theory, the relationship between science and philosophy, the relationship between science and religion, and the nature of pseudoscience. Massimo is the Editor-in-Chief of the open access journal Philosophy & Theory in Biology and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is the founder of the Rationally Speaking blog and author of Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk (2010), his most recent book.

Jason Rodriguez, "Betraying Science? Science Organizations Going Soft on Religion"Jason earned a B.S. in English Education from the University of Central Florida and is currently completing SUNY Buffalo’s Science and the Public Masters in Education program. He currently works as a technical writer focusing on business development for a large business in Tampa, FL. He is a member of CFI Tampa Bay, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Freedom From Religion Foundation, and Atheists of Florida.

John Shook, Ph.D., "Science Must Never Compromise with Religion, No Matter the Metaphysical or Theological Temptations"John is Director of Education and Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Inquiry and Education Coordinator for the American Humanist Association. He also serves as Visiting Assistant Professor of Science Education at the University at Buffalo, teaching for the joint CFI-UB Science and the Public online masters program. From 2000 to 2006 John was professor of philosophy at Oklahoma State University. Shook publishes on philosophical topics regarding science, the mind, humanist ethics, democracy, secularism, and religion. His most recent books are The God Debates, and as editor, The Essential William James. John blogs at It's Only Natural.